British Airways postpones resumption of Israel flights

British Airways aircraft  credit: Shutterstock/Jarek Kilian
British Airways aircraft credit: Shutterstock/Jarek Kilian

The company was supposed to resume flights on the London-Tel Aviv route on July 1 but announced today that all flights to Israel are canceled until at least August 1, 2026.

UK carrier British Airways has again postponed its resumption of flights to and from Israel and has extended the cancellation of flights to Ben Gurion Airport for another month. The company was supposed to resume flights on the London-Tel Aviv route on July 1 but announced today that all flights to Israel are canceled until at least August 1, 2026.

In addition, even after the planned return, the airline is expected to reduce activity on the route. By the end of the summer season, British Airways will operate only one daily flight instead of the two daily flights that operated previously. According to the updated flight schedule, only the morning flight from Tel Aviv and the night flight from London will continue to operate.

There are currently very few foreign carriers servicing the Tel Aviv-London route. Apart from British Airways, only Israeli airlines currently operate regular flights on the route. If there is no further change in plans, Wizz Air should resume its London-Tel Aviv flights next week. However, Wizz Air's planned return is still somewhat in doubt, due to concerns over renewed fighting with Iran - a scenario that could lead to another wave of cancellations by foreign companies.

Virgin Atlantic decided during the war not to resume its flights from London to Tel Aviv until further notice, while easyJet is unlikely to resume Israel flights until after the summer.

The Tel Aviv-London is considered one of the most popular and busiest routes for Israeli airlines, partly due to the high demand from the Jewish community, business travelers and Israelis who maintain work and family ties in the UK and not only due to tourism traffic.

At the same time, Iberia Express is also continuing to distance itself from the Israeli market at this stage and the company has canceled its flights to Israel until at least July 27. British Airways and Iberia Express both belong to the international aviation group IAG, and in many cases their decisions regarding activity in Israel are made in coordination or are influenced by the same security and operational situation assessment.

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 19, 2026.

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2026.

British Airways aircraft  credit: Shutterstock/Jarek Kilian
British Airways aircraft credit: Shutterstock/Jarek Kilian
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